Judges will have to declare their financial interests under SNP Government transparency plans.
Ministers are pushing ahead with the openness scheme despite fierce opposition from the judiciary.
Unlike politicians and quango board members, judges and sheriffs are not required to publish details of any directorships or shares they hold.
Critics believe the lack of public disclosure could lead to hidden conflicts of interests.
The issue was raised nearly ten years ago by campaigner Peter Cherbi, whose Holyrood petition called for a register of interests to be introduced.
Lord Gill, who at the time was Scotland’s most senior judge, blasted the idea by saying it could encourage “aggressive media or hostile individuals”.
His successor as Lord President, Lord Carloway, also claimed the policy would be “detrimental” to justice in Scotland.
However, MSPs across the political spectrum back the principle of a register and a commitment was made by the SNP during the Holyrood election.
Now Keith Brown, who was appointed by Nicola Sturgeon to be the new Justice Secretary, has confirmed the Government is taking it forward.
He said: “It was a manifesto commitment of the SNP to create a register of interests for members of the judiciary to improve transparency and trust in the justice system.
“Now that the new government is in place, we will start looking at ways this register can be introduced and take forward the work needed to achieve this manifesto commitment.”
Judges currently recuse themselves if they have a conflict of interest in a case and such instances are recorded online.
A Judicial Communications spokesperson said: “Judges are obliged to declare an interest where there is any real or perceived conflict in a court case before them. If there is a conflict, they will step down from the case (called a recusal) and it will be heard by a different judge.
“There is a register of recusals published on the Judiciary of Scotland website which shows when a motion for recusal has been made. The Lord President’s position was made clear in his evidence to the Public Petitions Committee that an additional, mandatory register of interests is not necessary or beneficial.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay said: “Over the past decade, the SNP and the judicial establishment have been severely hostile to this idea.
“However, it continued to gain support from across the political spectrum due to its simple logic and I welcome that Nicola Sturgeon appears to now support judicial transparency.
“The big question now is exactly what will it look like. A properly structured register could enhance public confidence which is in everyone’s interests.”
Cherbi, whose campaign sparked calls for the move, said: “Rules of declarations of interest for the judiciary should at least equal those applied to elected politicians - to ensure all links to professions, business, industry, wealth, roles in other walks of life and any other link, should be in the publicly available register for court users, litigants, the media and public to scrutinise.”
SNP MSP Michelle Thomson said: “I support the commitment from the Scottish Government to create a register of interests for the judiciary. Members of the judiciary, like any other public servant in receipt of public funds, must disclose interests that could influence their decisions or give the perception of doing so”.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Introducing a register of interests for members of the judiciary will increase transparency and trust in the justice system. The Scottish Government will now begin work to engage with stakeholders to consider how best to bring forward this justice reform.”
